Anthony Manuel

Anthony (Tony) Manuel (Ngāti Porou) is a Māwhera Greymouth-based artist who works primarily in carving, prints and painting.

He was born in Masterton, but when he was still young the family relocated to Te Waipounamu, initially settling in the mid Canterbury town of Rakaia but moving to Māwhera Greymouth in 1970. He began exploring art at a young age, using acrylics, pastels and oils on a range of media with the colours of Te Tai Poutini (the West Coast) as his palette.

Between the years of 1985-1988 Tony completed an apprenticeship in whakairo (Maori wood carving) under the tutelage of his brother Riki Manuel in Christchurch. With this grounding in whakairo he then began exploring carving and painting in a contemporary manner, using traditional designs as a reference whilst enjoying the use of vivid colours in his work.

Tony brings a thoughtfulness to his artworks incorporating whakapapa (genealogy); atua (gods); tahuhu korero (history); tikanga (tradition); wairua (spirituality); whanau (family); tangata whenua (people of the land); whakatauki (proverbs); past, present and future; whilst at all times reflecting the uniqueness of Te Tai Poutini and Aotearoa.

Tony spends his time balancing painting and carving, and tutoring in West Coast schools and the wider community. He is a member of the Reefton Gallery, an artists cooperative, and shows his work at Wae Wae Pounamu, Hokitika and the Left Bank Gallery, Greymouth.

See also:

• Anthony Apirana Manuel (artist’s official website)